Day 6: GRAVITAZ launches into the race! We’re already 14% of the way to the finish line.

4/16/2012:
GRAVITAZ blew the doors off its Kickstarter, and we’ve already hit 14% -
fantastic! To celebrate, we’re unveiling some new information. Weapon
details, track design theories... maybe even some new swag for
supporters.

We
had a few prototype vinyl bumper stickers made up, and they look pretty
great. What better way to celebrate a racing game than by slapping it
onto the back end of your car?

We’ve
also answered some questions from our fans, a sample of which is
available below. Most of these have come from the SomethingAwful.com
forums, where we’re fielding any and all questions:

Question: “What would your response be to naysayers who'd say this is just another Wipeout ripoff?” - from ‘Urdnot Fire'

Answer: There are two areas in which we’re really focusing our differentiation: weapons, and track design.

Weapons
in racing games have always been a bit of a mixed bag in terms of
effectiveness. A missile fires out, hits a car -- yay -- and then your
opponent stops dead in his tracks, you can't swerve in time, and all
you've done is knock yourself back. Not fun. So, skilled players just
treat the weapons as recharges and instantly absorb them; mid- to
high-level play might as well not have weapons at all.

We believe that weapons in a racing game ought to affect racing.
Rather than a missile that stops opponents dead in front of you, how
about a weapon that shoves them out of the way? One that slings you
ahead of people? A power-up that lets you bull through a crowd, knocking
everyone back without hurting your standing? Weapons should be
strategic, with a real sense of risk and reward. We're steering well
clear of anything like Mario Kart’s
infamous Blue Shell, or heavy “rubberbanding” physics, but... there's a
lot that could be done to make weapons more relevant to the genre.

Track
design is another element that's gotten a bit weird. If you look back
at Wipeout XL, or Hi-Octane, or any of the earlier racers, you'll see
wider tracks. There's plenty of space, plenty of lines to take, and as a
result, they were fun for just about anyone. Great players nailed the
perfect route, novice players swung a bit wide, and you could dart
around opponents and get a true sense of jockeying for position. Fast
forward to current day: track widths have been cut nearly in half (by
making the cars twice as big visually, amongst other tricks), and the
experience has been carved down to just high-end players optimizing
lines in tight alleys.

We're
going to widen the tracks back out, and work on giving players a sense
of choice and risk in the paths they choose. We're also looking at
adding shortcuts back to the genre: tactically advantageous side paths
that you may or may not want to run depending on your skill level.
"Well, I could try and stick that thin path up there, but man, if I
fall..." or "Ok, those crunchers just went up, I can make it!"

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P.S.: More details regarding the vinyl stickers as a Backer reward in the next update.

P.P.S.: As of this morning, GRAVITAZ is now a Kickstarter Staff Pick ...and we'd just like to say THANK YOU!!